2011年ACCA考试《F9财务管理》辅导讲义（40）

当前位置：

2011年ACCA考试《F9财务管理》辅导讲义（40）

发表时间：2011/7/14 9:16:09 来源：互联网点击关注微信：

为了帮助考生系统的复习ACCA考试全面的了解2011年ACCA考试的相关重点，小编特编辑汇总了2011年ACCA考试辅导资料，希望对您参加本次考试有所帮助！！

· Based upon the results of a credit check, credit limits can be set. Once the credit limit is reached it cannot be exceeded without the authorisation of senior management.

· Credit customers should be informed in writing of the normal credit period (for example 30 days after the invoice date).

· A small cash discount is often used as an incentive to encourage early payment by debtors. For example, many firms offer a discount of 2.5% of the invoice value for payment within seven working days of the invoice date.

· It is essential that an organisation maintains accurate records detailing all transactions with customers and the amounts owing. An aged debtors� list detailing the length of time that a debt has been owing is useful since it highlights those debts which management needs to concentrate on.

· An organisation should issue regular statements (normally monthly), and where necessary these should be followed up with reminders and phone calls/letters.

Effective credit control will ensure that disputes are settled quickly without damaging the relationship with a customer, whilst at the same time reducing the occurrence of bad debts. However, such a system is often expensive and time consuming to set up, hence many organisations, especially those which have only recently commenced trading, utilise debt factoring.

Debt factoring involves an organisation passing responsibility for the management and collection of its trade debtors to a third party.The organisation �sells� its invoices to a factor company and in return the factor immediately advances cash equal to between 50 and 85% of the total invoice value. The balance of the invoice value, less a charge for the factoring service, is paid when the debts are collected. In addition the factor is responsible for the administration of an organisation�s debtors, and can offer protection against bad debts.

The advantage of factoring is that it enables an organisation to concentrate upon generating sales and leaves the collection of cash to a third party. Most importantly it reduces the cash flow problems often experienced by new businesses by giving access to cash immediately rather than having to wait 30 or more days. Again our William Miller example highlights the problems experienced by small businesses, factoring would immediately solve Miller�s cash flow problem. However, factoring is expensive and in the long term it may be cheaper for an organisation to establish its own debtor management systems.

Invoice discounting is becoming increasingly common. Like debt factoring the business immediately receives cash representing a proportion of the total invoice value. Unlike debt factoring the business retains responsibility for the management of its credit control system.

When deciding the credit period offered to customers an organisation must consider several factors. A longer credit period (for example 45 days compared to 30 days offered by competitors) may generate additional sales, however these must be compared against the additional costs incurred by the business. These costs might include an increase in bad debts, higher administration costs and bank overdraft charges. If the profits arising from the additional credit period are less than the costs incurred, the credit period should be reviewed.

The practice of businesses extending trade credit to one another is probably the most important source of short-term funding available to most organisations. At first glance trade credit appears to represent a short-term interest free loan which enables a higher level of trade than if everything was paid for immediately in cash.

However, if we take a closer look at trade credit we can see that there are costs associated with it. Most suppliers offer customers a discount for early payment. Thus a supplier might allow 30 days�credit on all sales. However, in order to encourage early settlement of debts, customers paying within seven days are offered a cash discount equating to 2.5% of the invoice total. On an invoice of £10,000 (excluding VAT) this would equate to a saving of £250 (£10,000*2.5%).

Even if an organisation has an overdraft it may still be beneficial to take advantage of a cash discount. For example, Alanis purchases £5,000 of goods from Celine. Celine offers all customers the option of either 30 days� credit or a 1.5% discount if cash is received within 5 days. If Alanis takes the cash discount she will incur an overdraft on which interest is charged at 20% per annum. Is the cash discount beneficial to Alanis?

If Alanis takes the cash discount she will save:

£5,000*1.5% = £75

However, she will incur an overdraft for 25 days (30 5 days) which will cost:

£5,000*[20%*25/365] = £68.49

In this example Alanis will benefit by £6.51 if she pays the invoice within five days.

Another cost of trade credit, which is often ignored, is its impact upon the creditworthiness of a business. If a business consistently exceeds the credit period imposed by suppliers, in the long term its credit rating will be damaged. In the worst case scenario, suppliers will be forced to take legal action and may even withdraw their credit facility, requiring cash on delivery.

Whilst trade credit is undoubtedly a useful facility, it is important that businesses do not become too dependent upon it.

(d) Cash and bank balances

Liquidity problems often arise because inflows and outflows of cash do not coincide. For example, a small tour operator is likely to find itself awash with cash from January to June as customers book and pay for their summer holidays. Whilst from July to December sales and hence cash balances will be lower. However, business expenses such as wages and salaries, heat and light, rent and rates, and loan interest will remain more or less the same throughout the year. It is therefore essential that businesses plan ahead to ensure that sufficient cash is available to meet expenses in the off-peak period.

As demonstrated in Table 1, the preparation of a cash budget will indicate the flow of receipts and payments in and out of the business and will forecast periods of surplus and deficit cash balances thereby reducing the level of uncertainty. If a large surplus is forecast, cash can be invested in an interest earning account until it is required. If a deficit is forecast, our business can arrange a bank overdraft or loan. However, wherever possible overdrafts and loans should be avoided due to their high cost

相关文章：

2011年ACCA考试辅导：会计科目中英对照英语汇总

2011年ACCA考试辅导：常见词汇中英对照及释义汇总2

2011年ACCA考试辅导：常见词汇中英对照及释义汇总1

编辑推荐：

（责任编辑：中大编辑）

共2页,当前第1页第一页前一页下一页